


Times Passed

by SupernaturalDingleBean



Series: Nothing Lives in These Woods [2]
Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: M/M, Manor AU, Mercy Killing, Murder, Pneumonia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28003635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SupernaturalDingleBean/pseuds/SupernaturalDingleBean
Summary: How they all ended...
Relationships: Jay Merrick/Timothy "Tim" Wright | Masky
Series: Nothing Lives in These Woods [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051049
Kudos: 12





	1. 1633

Brian let out a cough. The winter hadn’t been kind to anyone. Snow fell endlessly, piles upon piles caked up in front of the door. Just as fast as the snow grew, the sickness’ body count grew. There were few left in the village free of its effects. Brian wasn’t lucky enough to be one of them. He had lost two children and his crop to the chill. 

He looked at the dying embers. He knew he should add more wood in, but he was just so tired. With a shiver he fell into another fit of coughing. Blood splattered against his hand as he raised it to cover the noise. 

His throat and chest ached but he forced himself up. With all the strength he still held he tossed wood into the fire. 

“Papa?” His youngest rubbed her sleep crusted eyes. 

“Yes it’s me.” He took the girl in his arms, letting out another agonizing cough. 

“If we run out of wood will we go up to Heaven with Sammy, Micheal, and all the angels?” She gazed up at him with soft brown eyes, worry clear as ever. 

“If it’s the Lord’s will. But I’ll do all I can to keep us from running dry,” He swore. He released her and looked towards the wood pile. Empty. He cursed his luck. “I’ll need to head for the wood. Tell your mother where I’ve gone.” 

“Please don’t go!” She let out a whimper. “The chill’ get ya!” 

“Have faith, Margery.” He rubbed his blood free hand over her head. 

Despite his pain he lifted his axe up. He wheezed as the room spun around him. "I won't be long." He smiled through it. 

Without further delay he left. 

Walking through the snow was definitely harder than he remembered. He managed it well but every step he felt his legs gain more weight. 

After what felt like hours of walking he found himself in the woods. 

The ground was hard, only a thin layer of snow resting on top of it. Brian gazed up at the towering trees. He squinted at the dense canopy. 

It somehow seemed wrong; everywhere else was blanketed by the blizzard yet this land seemed lightly brushed. 

Before he could contemplate this further a wretched fit of coughing overtook him. He wheezed and gripped a tree. 

The coppery taste coated his tongue as bitter tears spilled from his eyes. Blood splattered from his mouth as he struggled to fight off the blizzard on his eyes. 

His head beat furiously as his blue nose began to leak red. He refused to give up yet. 

He backed up from the tree, swinging his axe into it. He drew back the axe to swing again. 

Well he would have, if the axe were still in his gloved hands. 

Brian gasped and backed up from the tall tree. Distance provided perspective. The tree he had swung at was an inhumanely tall man. 

The tall man held an axe in it's thick white hand. 

Brian shook as it’s strange voice spoke in his mind. “Never has man been so bold as to attack me with a mere axe.” 

He needed to run. He needed to run now. Why isn’t he running?

He shook, every muscle tense and clenched. The only thing he could do was cough. So he did. He coughed till thick blood splattered upon the snow. His chest burned and his head stung. He was so tired.

“It’s a pity,” The mock human began. “Such strength should be laid to waste by a mere cough.” 

Brian wheezed, his legs gave out. His head danced as frightful coughs shook his entire body. He had to escape. Despite the blood pooling from his mouth he wasn’t out yet. His gloved hands dug into the snow as his trembling limbs forced himself up.

“Even now, you seek to resist that fate. Had you been born a demon you would be a force to reckon with.” It caressed his face, only pulling away when Brian bit into it’s fingers. 

“I…” Brain wheezed, his chest full of angry wasps. “I won- won’t…” His vision swam as he spit thick crimson. “I won’t give up!” He screamed definitely. His head swam, the trees dancing beside the tall man.

It crouched in front of him. It shushed him. “ Give thyself to sleep.” 

Despite his fears, he listened. His eyelids grew heavy. He could taste the sweetness of well deserved rest. With barely a sound the axe split the back of his neck.

He gasped. But he was already gone. Lifeless hands grasped at the snow as his mouth sputtered in a final cough. 

Brian watched his body spasm in horror. He cast his ethereal gaze towards the false human. 

"I'm dead?" He sputtered out. 

The being nodded. "There is no need to fear. Your soul passed in my woods. You belong to neither heaven or hell." 

He narrowed his eyes, hands forming into fists. "You killed me!" It let out a laugh. 

"I gave you a painless death. I was merciful, don't make me regret that." It wrapped it's hand around his blood stained neck. 

Despite being dead, Brian flinched. The thin man rubbed his neck. He swallowed his fear. 

"For now, you may call me The Slenderman." It released him. "But in time you will come to know me as the owner of your soul."

His eyes snapped open. He shouldn't feel this cold. He had no body. But somehow he was colder than the snow. 

"Now come. There's work to be done." It turned from him, motioning him to follow. 

He paused for a moment. Slenderman. Such a descriptive and inhumane name. It fit the creature truly. Somehow Brian suddenly felt like a tight shirt. It had fit once… He could remember it.

But looking down upon his corpse. He felt the name was too tight for his ghastly form. 

"What about me?" Brian bit his lip. He shouldn't be so vague. "What am I to be called?"

"That I give no care for. Names only have the power we give them." The answer was unsatisfactory, yet the truth. He let out a sigh. In time he'd find a name for himself.

But for now he was just another spirit in the wood.


	2. 1635

The town’s gate was silent. Large wooden walls stood protected by two lone men on either side. The elder of the two was a 22 year old man by the name of Timothy Wright. He was currently eyeing the darkened houses, a tired expression clear under his pale wooden mask.

Beside him, a noise sprung from the dark silence. Boots on leaf litter.

He narrowed his eyes and swiftly grabbed his firearm. Within seconds his hand was on the trigger. 

“Woah don’t shoot!” The noisy man pleaded in a whisper yell. Tim lowered the gun. 

“You fool,” He chastised. The younger just smiled in response. 

“I’m no fool,” He defended, “I’m merely loud.” This drew a short burst of laughter from both. 

The man who had nearly been shot was Merrick Jayson, typically referred to as Jay. He was a well respected scholarly man, but he was also Tim’s lover. 

“What are you even doing out this late?” Tim kept his voice low as he guided Jay towards the light. 

The younger lifted a woven basket from his hip. “I thought you’d be hungry.”

“Jay,” Tim shook his head. “Lord knows I’m starved but it’s my duty for owning this.” He holstered his gun. “You can’t just feed me and leave Alex starvin’ over there.”

“Don’t worry, I brought him some bread and dried meat before I came to you.” Jay offered him the same. He was about to accept when a commotion rang out. 

Both turned around. One of the Petersmith’s elder boys had let his hound loose on the chickens. Tim grabbed his gun and fired two shots into the frenzied hound. He was about to grab the boy but he managed to sprint into the wood. 

Tim let out a curse before he gave chase. 

Behind them, gunshots rang out. 

The two sprinted through the wood. They kept pace until Tim unloaded a shot into the boy’s legs. He went to drag the boy back to town for a trial.

Another gunshot sounded. Tim fell to the ground. He rolled over. Alex Petersmith stood with his gun raised. 

“We all have our jobs Tim, and mine is to protect my son.” Alex reloaded his gun. 

Despite the pain, Tim stood. He had to save himself. He had to return to Jay. His gut was bleeding but he still had two legs. 

He glanced back at his assailant before taking off. Alex tried to hit him but Tim weaved between the trees. He ducked behind a blueberry bush. 

Alex paused for a second. “You can’t escape me that easily.” He shot into the bush. 

Tim cried out, the bullet had hit its mark. The masked man’s leg throbbed, blood spilling from the two fresh wounds. Tears pricked at his eyes, his body hurt so much. He had to get away. 

His pursuer let out a dry chuckle. “It ends here Wright. With you as the justly killed.”

No. This wouldn’t be how it ended. A strange static filled Tim’s ear as he wrapped his finger around the trigger. A loud bang ran out as Alex collapsed onto the forest floor. 

Tim sat in stunned silence. His body shook. He would have stayed there the whole night if Alex hadn’t let out a noise of pain. It wasn’t rational, he knew it. He knew a man with a gunshot in his neck would be no issue to take down. But he was scared. So scared.

He ran. Ran so far. Too far. 

The trees grew taller above him. The wood grew hush. But he continued on.

His leg trailed behind him. His blood coated his clothes. Wheezing breaths left his copper tinted mouth. But he continued on.

His body grew heavy. Static overtook his vision. Bees buzzed in his brain. But he continued on. 

He tripped over a hidden root. His head hit the ground. A cry rang from his mouth. He couldn’t continue. 

“Jay… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” His throat ached as he struggled for air. The bees in his brain turned vicious, stinging him with prickly thorns. A hand reached out for him, caressing his cheek with a chilled touch. “Jay…” He whispered gently.

The man shushed him. Those chill hands pushing his eyelids closed. Tim felt a smile creep over his face. Somewhere nearby was an angel, he just knew it. An ethereal being carefully approaching his tattered body. 

Its hands grabbed onto Tim’s soul, pulling him towards God’s light. So he thought… 

When he came too, he was still on the forest floor. There was no heavenly glow, only growing darkness. His soul was free. Free from only his body.

“Is this hell..?” A chuckle burst from beside him. 

“Oh trust me, we aren’t that lucky.” 

Tim cast his gaze towards the source of the voice. An ambiguous figure clad in blood stained yellow jacket stood just beside the trees. Their arms wrapped together and their face covered by a shadowed mask. 

The words left his lips before he could even think, “Demon.”  
The shaded creature laughed louder. “ I should apologize for my rudeness,” They spoke with a grin in their tone, “But this is too comical. You call me a demon when we are the same. You’re just as dead as I am- as trapped as I am.” The figure let out a sigh, shadows falling back to show the face of a sickly man. 

Before Tim could even process this, the man spoke again. “In a few moments, you’ll meet our prison warden. I wish you luck.” 

"Wait!" Tim called out, "Who are you?" 

The formally shadowed man paused for a moment. He seemed to struggle with the question. His mouth opened slightly, before shutting sharply. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Was all Tim got as the man hurried back into the darkness.

The masked guard bit back the urge to call for him again.

He had so many questions. This entire situation was too much to process. Was this purgatory? Was he being punished for failing to protect the town? How was Jay going to react? 

His throat hurt as he let out a small wine. Would he assume the worst of his partner? No. Jay wouldn’t, he was too kind. He loved Tim more than anything. At least that’s what he claimed. 

“It’s best not to get your hopes up.” A sharp voice cut into his thoughts.

Tim looked up, wildly turning himself around. A static filled chuckle filled his mind as he searched frantically for the source of the voice. He couldn't find it, that was until a dark tree he had been glaring at moved. Long, treelike limbs stretched and bent as the tree beast moved towards him. 

"Calm yourself young one." It spoke with the same sharp voice. Tim swallowed, backing up from the monster. "My servant should have warned you of my arrival." Servant? A warning..? His face lit up with realization. 

"Do- do you mean the man with the shadows covering his face?" 

"Yes. I believe he called me your warden." The creature laughed before suddenly stopping. "But I am no such thing. I merely request you're service to me."

"Serve you?" He echoed quietly. It did call the man his servant... but what could such a demonic creature need specters help for? He shook his head. That didn't matter as of now, he was not going to cater to this unholy being. "I would never." Tim snapped simply, his chest puffed with faux confidence. 

"I feared you might say that." It raised a boney hand to stroke it's non-existent chin. "But I have a counter. You fear what Jay will think, do you not?" It barely paused for him to answer. "What will he think when he arrives in heaven and finds you missing?" It tsked with a shake of its blank head. "He'd be so ashamed of you. That is... if he found out." 

Despite it lacking a face, Tim could have sworn the pale devil smiled. "You could join him before the shame reaches him." The slender man circled him like a pack of hungry wolves. "You died within my woods, this means your soul is in my possession. For you to rise... well I would have to release you. But why would I do that with nothing to earn?" Its head tilted mockingly. 

Tim bit back a furious yell. Despite his hatred for this thing. He knew he had to return to Jay; the two had lived their lives alongside one another. The thought of them apart was one Tim never wanted to confront. But if he was trapped... He had to protect Jay from this feeling. With a heavy heart and a cold voice he swore, "I'll serve you. But I'll return to Jay as soon as this is over." 

"That's the spirit masked one." It pet him as though he were a child. 

Tim pulled away. He caught sight of the shadow man, seeming to be shaking his head. Tim could have sworn he caught him mouthing something. But since he couldn't read his lips, he paid no attention to it. 

Although if he had, he would have seen that his new companion was labeling him an utter fool. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timothy is loyal to his heart even past the bitter end. I'm very excited for the next entry, Jeff.


	4. Special-1991

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [ A special chapter for Coffe's AU character, Briar](http://world-of-horrors-au.tumblr.com)

Briar took her seat pressed up against the window. The hard, carpet-like fabric provides a strange sense of grounding in the cold night. 

She let out an exhausted sigh. The events of the day played on a loop in her mind, weighing on her eyelids. She didn’t know what she should have expected, of course, she wasn’t welcome, she left the family years ago. A wedding invite wasn’t going to change all that. 

A sigh left her lips. It wasn’t worth fussing over, it wasn’t as though they were outright hostile towards her. They were just… silent. What words they did exchange were tense and curt. By the end of it all, she was nothing more than a shell of exhaustion. 

The train jolted her from these thoughts. A rhythmic pulse overtaking her ears.

She leaned on the window, letting out short, chill breaths. A yawn grew in the back of her throat. If it weren’t for the uncomfortable seating and chill window upon her cheek she would have passed out on the spot.

Briar released the building yawn quietly. Her gaze followed the moving forest; trees and leaves dancing together in the darkness. 

It seemed every so often a flash of white would brush past the window. Vanishing the moment Briar’s eyes could focus on it. 

Before she could dwell on this strange occurrence the train jolted.

Harsh squeals and crack metal sounded through the car. 

People let out gasps and howls as the train collapsed onto its side. The car behind her denting into the back before falling onto the soil. 

Briar gripped tightly to her seat. While she was uninjured, the crash had shaken her. 

"Is everyone ok?" Someone called out. The people within the car could only respond with fearful whimpers and tired tears. Not Briar, for at the moment she was stunned silent. 

She only snapped free of her trance when a stranger offered his hand. 

"Are you alright Miss?" He asked softly. 

Briar nodded in return, "I'm okay. Please don't worry about me." She tried her best to smile as she moved from her lopsided seat. 

The stranger helped her climb up onto the seat's sides. "We haven't managed to open any of the upper windows yet." He spoke bitterly with a fierce gaze towards the other passengers. 

She quickly followed his gaze and frowned. Several passengers were struggling to open the doors and keep footing while others struck at the windows. 

Before she could say anything a realization hit her. She looked at her bag. Inside of it was the childhood bat that she had gotten from her brother. 

"I think I can help." Leaning down, she grabbed the bat in her right hand and climbed back up the seat. 

Despite her fatigue, she managed to scale to the windows. 

She warned the other passengers, "Please stay back." 

Once everyone had moved away from her, she took to slamming her bat into the window. Hit by hit, a spiderweb crack formed on the glass. 

Briar took in a sharp breath.

She moved the bat, smashing the top directly through the window. Glass sprayed everywhere. 

She bit back a hiss as small shards nicking her hands and cheeks. Using her jacket as thin a cover for her arms, she climbed through the window. 

"It's safe up here!" She shouted back into the cart. 

One by one the remaining passengers climbed through the window. 

"Now how do we get down?" An older woman asked. Briar gazed from the train sides down to the grass. From what she could tell it was too high to jump and too steep to climb. Not to mention how hot the metallic underside could be. 

She wasn't sure of what to do so she waited for someone else to speak on it. 

"What if we climb down the dented sides?" An elderly woman suggested. 

A raven-haired man nodded, "That sounds like a good idea. I'll go first just to make sure all is safe." 

Briar looked over at the dented back of the cart. While it was crushed inward, there was definitely a ledge that could be scaled down. The man climbed down the ledge. It took him around six minutes to reach the ground. From below he called up, "It's safe! Just be careful, a few of the edges caught me." 

That seemed to be enough for the rest of the passengers. They followed the man’s path one by one until only the elderly woman. 

“I don’t trust my arms to keep a steady hold,” She confessed. “Please go on and help other’s, I’ll be safe up here.”

The other’s looked between themselves before agreeing. They moved away from the wreckage, the black-haired man seeming to have taken up a leadership role. 

“Be careful.” Briar heard herself murmur gently before going to join the others. 

“Where should we go from here?” A salt and pepper gentleman asked. 

“We should help the other passengers.” A ginger woman suggested. 

“Shouldn’t we get the authorities? Our phones don’t work out here and they may need medical assistance.” The woman beside Briar suggested. 

Their leader seemed to contemplate the options. He clicked his tongue with a grin. “We could do both. Split up into two teams.” He took a step back from the group. “All those who want to look for help can come with me, anyone who wants to stay and help stays where they are.” 

Briar was amongst one of the first to step up. While she didn’t want to walk the forest, she wasn’t sure how much help she could be to the distressed passengers. 

Beside her came a middle-aged man and the woman who had first proposed the idea. 

“Is that everyone?” Their dark-haired leader surveyed the small group. “Then let’s go.” 

They took off, following the steel tracks, and moving opposite to the train’s crumbling corpse. Briar surveyed the woods with growing unease. Bubbling dread formed in the pit of her stomach, chilling her skin more than the winter air ever could. A static caught her ear. 

But her companions were quick to catch it back. “We should probably give our names so we aren’t complete strangers,” The middle-aged man proposed. “My name is Joseph.” 

“Margeret, but you can call me Maggie.” The woman, who seemed only a little younger than Briar, gave with a smile.

“My name is Robert.”

Briar swallowed, here it was her turn. Telling them her name was Briar should be easier than this, but it was still a new name. Would her next of kin know she was dead if they found the corpse of Briar? 

She shook her head, a sad chuckle escaping. They wouldn’t care either way. “Briar. Briar is my name.” 

“Now that we’re all acquainted, let’s get the hell out of here.” Robert turned from the group. 

They walked like this until long after the last cart. The forest seemed to stretch far beyond the horizon. No matter how far- or long- they walked for they were no closer to civilization. 

Briar’s unease had not let up and the tension in the air only grew. When her legs grew too tired to carry her on, she leaned on her bat.

She wasn’t the only one facing this weariness; Joseph had to stop every so often to gain back his breath. Maggie seemed to have hurt her ankle somewhere along the track. While Robert kept his head high, it was clear he was moments from taking a nap in the leaf litter. 

During one of Joseph’s breaks is when Briar got her first good look at it. 

A creature of ivory and shadows, thin as the sliver of moonlight overhead, and taller than the ancient trees it stood hidden in watching them. 

She wanted to scream, to run, to even vomit, but that ethereal static had stolen it all from her. Silent gawking was all she could manage before the horror moved behind the great pines.

In its place stood a deformed skeleton. 

Briar felt her tongue come back under her control. But before she could point out this new abomination, it was running at them. 

Pale and starved, it struck down Joseph. With unexplainably strong jaws it tore his ear free of his head. It’s thick, claw-like nails tore into his stomach. Crimson decorated the night sky as it broke his rib cage and devoured his innards. 

Maggie was the first to scream. No words came with it, only the purest of primal terror. 

Robert on the other hand, let out a much more sensible cry for them to run. Despite their fear, both women took off towards the train. 

The emaciated beast took off after them. It blocked their path and let out a shriek. 

Without thinking, Briar slammed her bat down on the creature’s head. It recoiled in shock. 

“Go!” She yelled to her companions, motioning them towards the woods. After they had taken off she ran after.

The woods were dense and silent. It seemed as though the whole world was muted, except for their panicked breathes and shuttering hearts.

They had no time to focus on the details as the skeletal beast was quickly upon them again. It tore through Robert next. This time Briar refused to watch, she knew he had no chance to survive. If she were to live through this she would have to leave the dead to rot. 

Her hand grasped at Maggie’s and the two took off further into the wood. 

Branches grabbed at them maliciously; hidden roots grasping at their feet, begging them to stay forevermore. The scheming leaves crackle beneath their shoes, betraying them to the every gaining beast. The cold air turned molten as the two fought to breathe. 

Briar swallowed gulps of air, focusing on the path ahead. But her sights were not clear enough in the midnight forest. She tripped over a snaking root. 

A yelp escaped her mouth as her bones split from one another with searing pain. She dropped her bat as her hands became more preoccupied with shielding her head as she sailed down the hill. 

Barely seconds passed as she tumbled further and further. A screech sounded above her. Another tumbling figure joined her, then a third. All three tumbled over the steep hill, struggling to gain control of their movements. 

Even still, Briar was the first one down. Into a shallow stream, she fell, unnaturally jagged stones stabbing at her back and neck. 

That’s not to say Maggie was any better off. The younger woman had landed in a thick tangle of bramble. Her skin stuck painfully to the plant as she struggled, tearing it from her muscle. 

The creature fell after her, stopping just shy of the tangle. For a moment it seemed almost human, mercifully splitting the woman’s neck. 

That was until it spread her entrails over the tangles, taking extra care to snack on her intestines as it hung the bloody feast to dry. 

Briar shut her eyes. She couldn’t die. She couldn’t. With all the strength left, she pushed herself free of the murky waters. Stones pierced her hands but she hadn’t the time to care. She stumbled up, forcing herself to try to climb the ledge opposite to the beast. 

Her hands grasped at the soil, forcing it to hold her. 

She managed to make it halfway using the support of roots and premade dents to hoist herself above the river. The pain in her ankle the only constant as she fought her way up. 

With a newfound joy, she pulled herself over the ledge. Only to find another monster waiting for her. The too tall, too thin, man of shadows and ivory. 

“Shhhh.” Static whispered in her ear as it used a long foot to push her back over the edge. 

All she had time to do was scream.

“Finally you’re awake.” Was what greeted her the moment she opened her eyes. She sat up quickly, staring with wide eyes at the blue masked man before her. 

Her eyes fell over the room. From what she could tell she was in a hospital, or some poor mockery of it. The mattress beneath her was old and stiff, with an even older metal frame. Beside her sat an assortment of medical instruments. The man in the blue mask wore a thick lab coat, a clipboard in his blue-tinted hands. 

“Do you know you’re name?” He asked from behind the mask. 

“Briar.” 

“What a kind name,” He remarked in a mocking tone. “The one who owns this body calls himself Eyeless Jack.” 

Briar narrowed her eyes, scanning the room once again she found someone who seemed familiar. A tall, suited man, with a mask of pure white. From his back, a tentacle sprung. 

She let out a gasp, drawing a strained chuckle from Eyeless. 

“Now now. Do not be alarmed Briar, after all, it was I who saved you from the wood.” Even though it was Eyeless speaking, she could somehow tell that it was the faceless man who spoke. 

“Why..?” Was all she could manage as the supernatural man approached. 

“Because you can be of use to me Briar. You have a strong will and not too soft a heart. Not many have landed such a hit on The Rake.” So that was the name of the skeletal beast… 

She drew in a long breath. “What happens if I do not accept?” 

This only drew more laughter from Eyeless’ body. “Well, then you will die.” He brought out another tentacle, this one wrapping tight around her neck. 

Briar gasped out, biting into the tentacle in a futile self-preservation effort. He released his hold. “Now I have a gift for you.” With a much softer grasp, he dropped her bat into her hand. 

She held it tightly. She just wanted to live… now she was a servant. But maybe not a servant to just him. If he was going to kill her then she was winning. In a strange way this fulfilled her need to live. 

Briar wouldn’t die, she was eternal.

But perception is such a funny thing. For while Briar sat determined in a bed, her body laid in the creek. Creatures picking at her flesh as lifeless eyes watched. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do something for his birthday and my sketchbook is packed away soooo. Also Masky's chapter should be done by Christmas.

**Author's Note:**

> Next is Masky!


End file.
